Cinco de Mayo is a regional holiday in Mexico but a major Mexican Holiday in the USA. Due to the mysterious ‘swine flu’ it was not celebrated in either country this year. Although it seems like a major American pig factory in Mexico was the source of the flu epidemic, the real people suffering are the Mexican people, and the real animals suffering the most are pigs. Mexicans are being discriminated against across the world, and pigs and pig farmers, although not spreading the flu, are suffering a loss of business. In the meanwhile the suspicious major agriculture business that seems to be the source goes unaffected. This is a classic example of blaming the messengers, those associated with the flu, but allowing the message, the pig factory, to go unattended.

Blaming the messenger rather than deal with the message, in this case the deplorable conditions of this agribusiness, seems to be the norm in this country.

I remember once when, as a youth minister, I pointed out how the athletic association of the church where I was working, was violating Archdiocese church rules by having sports practice on Sunday morning during Church time. I, the messenger, was blamed.

The immorality of a Catholic University hosting the teaching of war and violence against the values of the Catholic Church is ignored while those of us who are the messengers of this message are blamed as being trouble-makers.

In the garden we blame weather conditions or other factors for our failure to make the right decisions in planting or caring for the garden. We do the same in politics. We blame a political party often and not the message that they support.

My observation is that we blame the messenger, not the message, when we do not want to face up to the truth, be it that poor conditions in a major agribusiness in Mexico are causing health problems or that we are teaching war in our schools.

The message of Cinco De Mayo, a regional holiday celebrating a victory over France, might be hidden from us Americans who wrongfully considered it Mexican Independence day. But the message is there if we care to see.

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